Category: A Man Like None Other

Chapter 1222 Cymbal

Jared watched Skylar in silence as the latter turned and went to another mansion to grab the keys.

When he reached one of the rooms, he placed his palm on the wall and gently pressed down. A secret door opened.

After Skylar stepped into the room, the door closed behind him.

There were numerous magical items and treasures in the room. It was the place where Skylar’s father, David, hid his treasures.

Skylar had not gone there to retrieve the keys; he was there to get one of the items to defeat Jared.

His gaze landed on a cymbal hanging on the wall.

That cymbal was David’s most precious treasure. According to the legends, that cymbal was something used by a Top Level Martial Arts Marquis.

The Top Level Martial Arts Marquis had failed to get a breakthrough in his skills for a hundred years, and he had ended up dying a sad man.

Nevertheless, the Top Level Martial Arts Marquis had sealed his power within the cymbal.

That power would be more than enough to kill everyone in Jadeborough martial arts world.

However, that cymbal could only be used once.

Ever since David got his hands on the cymbal, he had treated it as the family treasure. With that, no one had dared to cross the Norton family without thinking twice.

“Jared, I’m going to make sure you die in pieces!”

A cold glint flickered in Skylar’s eyes as he reached out to grab the cymbal.

At that moment, Skylar no longer cared about the consequences.

Holding the cymbal close to his chest, he walked out of the secret room and toward Jared.

“Have you gotten the keys?” Jared asked him.

“I have. Look.”

Skylar pulled out the cymbal.

The moment the cymbal was exposed to the air, a powerful wave of ancient aura spread across the room.

Once that aura dissipated, Jared furrowed his brows.

The people were taken aback when they saw Skylar take out the cymbal.

“Is that… Is that the Norton family’s family treasure?”

“I think so. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen it before. That aura’s too mighty.”

“What kind of item is that? I’ve never felt a wave of aura like this before.”

“This is fear-inducing! It’s so much more powerful than the aura of a Fifth Level Martial Arts Marquis!”

The crowd chattered away.

Jared’s expression darkened, and he activated his spiritual energy to its maximum.

The Power of Dragons kept getting released from the draconic essence, and it enveloped Jared’s body.

As he could not use Golem Body for the time being, he would have to take the hits with his own body.

The mysterious aura made alarm bells ring in Jared’s head, for he could sense how powerful it was.

When Skylar saw the way Jared reacted, he smugly grinned. “Jared, a Top Level Martial Arts Marquis’ power is within this cymbal. I’ll be able to kill you in a second, and there won’t be even a piece of you left!”

Jared grimaced even more at that.

Although he knew that the power within the cymbal was not the Top Level Martial Arts Marquis’ full power, the cymbal could still be used to end his life in the blink of an eye.

The Power of Dragons that wrapped around Jared began to glow.

“Jared, I might spare your life if you admit to your mistakes on your knees and hand over all the magical items you have,” Skylar said as he looked at Jared. “I’m someone who values gifted people, and you’re one. It’s a pity if you die like this.”

Truthfully, Skylar would feel no pity if Jared were to die. He was only afraid that the Top Level Martial Arts Marquis’ power would destroy the magical items that Jared had on him.

Pentacarna Tower, especially, was truly one of its kind.

With Pentacarna Tower, Skylar would have an easy time cultivating. Jared was a living example of its usefulness. Skylar was sure that Jared could not have improved so quickly without the help of Pentacarna Tower.

“Get on my knees and admit to my mistakes?” Jared sneered. “Do you think you’re worthy of me doing that?”

The bloodthirsty intent seeped out of Jared. He was not going to relent even if it meant going up against the power of a Top Level Martial Arts Marquis.

Chapter 1221 Kill

There were so many people up against Jared. Even a man made of steel would turn to ashes.

Yet, although Jared had sustained wounds, those wounds were not fatal.

In other words, one could only imagine how alarmingly strong Jared was.

“Gentlemen, we can’t let Jared frighten us. Stand your ground for a little longer, and this boy will surely die!”

Skylar could see that the people were starting to have thoughts of retreating. He tightened his grip on his sword and leaped into the air.

He could not let them bear the thoughts of drawing back.

If someone were to flee at a time like this, the defensive formation they had formed would certainly crumble.

That was the same reason why the Rowling family had failed to decimate the Village of Villains despite bringing the martial artists of Marsingfill along.

Skylar did not want something like that to happen to him.

His attack lifted the spirits of the others.

Without pausing, they all launched their greatest attacks at Jared.

Jared was like the god of war with no sense of self-preservation, given how he had the Dragonslayer Sword in his hand and how he was drenched in blood.

Every swing of his sword took away one of the sect leaders’ lives.

At the same time, the golden scales on Jared’s body were all gone.

When the Golem Body shattered, Jared knew that he was not going to be able to use it for a period of time.

All he could do was to take the hits with his flesh body, but still, he clung to life.

Welts and bloody holes littered all over Jared’s body. There was no inch of his skin that had been spared.

Nevertheless, Jared was still fighting without regard for his safety.

He only had one thought in his mind, and that was to kill.

Finally, everyone’s spirits were gone, and they all wanted to escape.

After all, none could guess whose life Jared was going to take next with his sword.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

The murderous intent and explosive aura that Jared had made the people afraid.

They had never come across someone like him before.

There were so many people raining blows on one person, and a Martial Arts Marquis would not have even been able to hold their ground against the endless assault, let alone a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

However, Jared, who was only a Martial Arts Grandmaster, seemed to be as mighty as a Martial Arts Marquis.

“Mr. Norton, this Jared is a devil! If this goes on, I’m afraid many of us will either be hurt or dead!” one finally pointed out.

“He’s right! Why does it seem that this guy will never die?”

“I’m about to run out of martial energy. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on any longer.”

“Mr. Norton, it’s not that we’re fleeing from cowardice, but that this man is far too insane!”

Some, who were unable to hold their ground anymore, began to cease their attacks and back away.

The more people retreated, the weaker the assault against Jared became.

Hence, he swung the Dragonslayer Sword with even more vigor.

In the end, Skylar was the only one up against Jared, while the others stood behind Skylar.

Skylar’s expression darkened at that.

He had never thought that they would be that unreliable, and he had never thought that Jared would be far more powerful than he had expected.

Jared, who was soaked with blood from head to toe and had some of his bone exposed to the air, was still swinging his Dragonslayer Sword. It was a fearsome sight to behold.

“Hand them over, or you die!”

Jared was squinting by then, for his blood was blurring his sight.

Still, he clenched his teeth and persisted.

Skylar’s face turned ashen. Despite the fact that Jared was grievously injured, Skylar still dared not go up against the other man alone.

That was because he was truly stunned to his core by Jared’s actions.

Skylar was starting to regret letting the experts of the Norton family that he had gathered go.

He had thought that killing Jared would be an easy feat since so many sects and families were now under the Norton family.

Unexpectedly, none had displayed any shred of loyalty in the face of death.

“All right. I’ll let them go. I’ll get the keys now,” said Skylar, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Chapter 1220 Trash

Manuel stared at the gaping wound on his chest with terror-filled eyes.

He parted his lips to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. In the end, he cocked his head to the side and stopped breathing.

With one fluid swing, Jared threw Manuel’s body away from him.

It was as if he was flinging a dead stray dog off his hands.

“Who’s next?” Jared let his gaze sweep past the people again.

Everyone’s heart sank. They had never thought that Jared’s abilities had reached such terrifying levels.

Even though Jared had defeated Edgar and killed Warren a while ago, it had taken Jared everything to do that.

Yet, even though Manuel was also a Martial Arts Grandmaster, he did not even have the chance to touch Jared before he died.

The power that Jared had was simply too terrifying to be described with mere words.

Skylar paled as he stared at Jared intently. “I never expected you to improve in such a short period of time. It seems that the magical items you own have assisted you much.”

He had seen with his own two eyes how quickly Jared had been progressing.

However, he did not think that it was because Jared was gifted. Instead, he felt that Jared’s exponential improvement was because of the magical items he owned.

“Haven’t you always wanted to get your hands on my magical item? I’m here right now, so come for it if you dare,” Jared taunted.

The moment Skylar made a move, Jared would definitely kill him instantly.

However, Skylar was a meticulous man. He knew that he was no match for Jared in a duel, so he would never make a move against Jared himself.

“Hmph! No matter how powerful you are, there are plenty of people here. It’ll be a piece of cake to kill you, Jared!”

With that, Skylar turned to the people and said, “Gentlemen, we can no longer fight Jared one-to-one, so let’s work together and kill him!”

The rest nodded in agreement before they unleashed their own horrifying auras.

“You’re dead meat, Jared!” Skylar uttered with a sneer.

“All of you are just pieces of trash!”

Jared clenched his fists, and golden scales began growing on his body.

He had activated Golem Body to its full potential.

Even though Jared was taunting them and looking down on them, he was not going to actually underestimate them.

The accumulated power of all those Martial Arts Grandmasters would equate to an aerial bomb.

No one would dare to look down upon that power.

In the next instance, deathly rays of light shot toward Jared along with countless magecraft martial energy.

The sheer amount of magecraft martial energy made the entire space around them shake, and in half a second, the entire mansion collapsed.

Dust flew into the air when the walls came down. As all of them were Martial Arts Grandmasters, the concrete items could never leave a mark on them.

Jared waved his hand at the people, and the Dragonslayer Sword manifested in his hand. Its flames turned half the sky bright red.

“River Cutter.”

Jared swung the Dragonslayer Sword.

Waves of radiant red sword energy shot outward and counterattacked the waves of magecraft martial energy.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sounds of explosions echoed in the area, and it was as though a world war had broken out.

Even though Jared had managed to deflect a portion of the attacks, the fact remained that he was one man against many, so quite an amount of magecraft martial energy still struck Jared.

The golden glow around Jared brightened and dimmed. Although Jared had Golem Body, the scales on him were still falling off at the relentless attacks.

Nevertheless, Jared did not retreat. His eyes turned bloodshot, and the battle will he emanated made shivers run down his opponents’ spines.

“Kill him!”

Jared steeled himself and took all the blows before swinging his sword.

The intense sword energy promptly split one of the sect leaders in half. His blood gushed out everywhere and drenched many around him.

The frightful scene made many of them gasp in shock.

Chapter 1219 Gift Presenting

“What a good time. I’d like to find out which family is close to the Norton family, and I’m going to strike down all of them,” Jared said coldly.

When Theodore realized that Jared had made up his mind, he decided not to convince him otherwise. Instead, he quickly left to look for Mr. Sanders.

Jared was doomed to fail by going up against so many families by himself.

However, what Theodore did not know was that Jared’s ability had soared to impressive heights.

Jared strode toward the Norton residence.

Just as he reached the doorway, the guards stopped him.

“Hello, do you have an invitation?” the guard asked.

Jared shook his head.

“You can’t enter without an invitation, so scram!”

The guard’s expression turned cold when he realized Jared was going to enter without an invitation.

“I’m here to present a gift to Mr. Norton,” Jared said calmly.

“Gift? What gift?”

The guard could see that Jared had nothing in his hands.

“A human head!”

With that, Jared grabbed the guard and pulled his head off his shoulders.

Upon entering the living room, Jared tossed the head in his hands.

Whoosh!

The head rolled on the table in the middle and toppled many glasses over.

The people were stunned by the sight.

Still, they were the ones in charge of various prestigious families and sects, so they soon recollected themselves.

Skylar whipped his head toward the doorway with a furious look.

The moment he saw Jared’s shadow clone, he froze.

“Jared?” Skylar was a little flabbergasted. “I didn’t realize you were out. If you’re out, why aren’t you fleeing? You actually have the guts to seek death here?”

“Where are The Villainous Four?” Jared questioned.

“So you’re here for The Villainous Four. I can tell you where they are—they’re in my prison. Do you want to join them?”

Skylar flashed Jared a faint smile.

“Shut the hell up. Either you hand them over, or you die!”

Jared’s tone was icy, and murderous intent laced his words.

“Hahaha! Have you lost your mind? Did you take a good look at the people in here? How dare you come alone to get them in the Norton residence? You must be sick of living!”

Jared continued to laugh boisterously, for he did not think that Jared had the capability of killing him in front of so many experts.

“You’re but a mass of trivial people. Leave the Norton residence right away if you don’t want to die. Those who stay, I’ll make sure that you’re gone from Jadeborough!”

Jared swept his gaze across the crowd.

His words infuriated the people, for they were the heads of their respective families and sects, and they had never suffered such humiliation before.

“So, you’re Jared Chance. You’re young, but you’re bold with your words. Well then, I’ll let you catch a glimpse of how I fight today!” the head of Stabilis, Manuel Hirsh, cried out as he unleashed a tyrannical aura.

“A lapdog like you has no right to go up against me!” Jared sneered as he, too, unleashed his aura.

“I’m going to kill you!” Manuel was livid. Even though Stabilis was under the Norton family, he could never stand anyone calling him someone’s lapdog.

Manuel slammed his fist at Jared, and the tremendous martial energy rushed toward Jared.

The power of a Martial Arts Grandmaster was not one to be undermined.

Golden light radiated from Jared, and that terrifying power thinned the air around everyone for a moment.

“Mr. Hirsh, don’t act in a haste!” Skylar hurriedly tried to stop Manuel.

However, it was too late; Manuel had already dashed toward Jared.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Jared curled his lips. In the next second, he threw a punch.

A golden glow encased his fist, and his punch struck Manuel’s chest.

Thump!

Jared’s punch went through Manuel’s body.

Warm blood spurted everywhere, and the metallic tang of blood instantly filled the air in the room.

Chapter 1218 Death Wish

The blood splattered onto the other man, and he tried to turn around and escape.

However, there was no way he could run from Jared.

Jared took one step forward and grabbed the man.

He glared ruthlessly at the man and asked, “What the hell happened here? You better spill it!”

The man was horrified when he felt the terrifying aura Jared exuded. He then quickly told Jared everything.

The more Jared listened, the more infuriated he was.

He didn’t expect almost everyone in the Village of Villains to die protecting him.

What was even more surprising to him was how despicable Skylar was. How dare he find trouble with the Village of Villains right after they battled the martial arts world from Marsingfill?

“What else?” Jared asked coldly.

“Nothing else! That’s all I know…” The man shook his head in terror.

Jared tightened his grip slightly, and the man died on the spot.

The Norton family, I want you to pay for the sins you’ve committed.

After leaving the Village of Villains, Jared rushed toward Jadeborough. No matter what, I must rescue The Villainous Four!

Meanwhile, more than ten people from various martial arts families had gathered in the Norton residence in Jadeborough to celebrate Skylar’s birthday.

Although he was still a young man, he had organized a huge birthday party for himself.

The Norton family had invited the families serving them, and they had also invited the Warriors Alliance.

In fact, Skylar had even invited Mr. Sanders. However, no one knew if Mr. Sanders would show up.

The Norton residence was very lively, and Theodore had brought the men from the Department of Justice to maintain order from outside the residence.

As the General of the Department of Justice, he wasn’t invited to the party.

In other words, Skylar had no respect for the Department of Justice whatsoever.

“Mr. Norton, most of the guests have arrived. But Mr. Sanders and the people from the Warriors Alliance aren’t here yet!” the butler whispered into Skylar’s ear.

Skylar’s eyes were filled with hostility when he answered, “I knew they wouldn’t show up because they look down on me. In three years’ time, I’ll have them all kneeling before me.”

After straightening his clothes, Skylar walked toward the main hall.

When the crowd saw Skylar coming, they all fell silent.

“Everyone, thank you for attending my birthday party. Those who are here today are all friends of the Norton family. As long as you guys are willing to stay by my side, you’ll all have a spot in Jadeborough martial arts world in three years’ time! I guarantee it!” Despite how arrogant Skylar sounded, no one dared to contradict him.

Instead, they all clapped and cheered for him.

The party then started, and the scene was lively.

Right then, a man appeared outside the Norton residence, and the man was filled with murderous intent.

“Mr. Chance, is that you?” Theodore, while maintaining order outside the residence, saw Jared.

Jared was surprised to see Theodore. “General Jackson, what are you doing here?”

“Skylar is having a birthday party today, so I came to maintain order!” Theodore said. “What are you doing here, Mr. Chance? A lot of people are looking for you!”

“I’m here to kill someone.” Jared shifted his gaze toward the Norton residence.

If Jared tries to kill Skylar now, won’t he be asking for death? Theodore was stunned when he heard that. He hurriedly stopped Jared and warned, “Mr. Chance, if you want to kill Skylar, now is not the time.

There are more than ten people from Jadeborough martial arts families in the Norton residence. Besides, they’re all good fighters. Also, these families are all serving the Norton family. If you attack Skylar, they’ll all unite and fight you!”

Chapter 1217 Done With Cultivation

Over the past two weeks, Skylar of the Norton family had been acting very arrogantly, and he had no respect for the Warriors Alliance.

Meanwhile, in Pentacarna Tower, Jared was cultivating as hard as he could. The spiritual energy around him was constantly energizing his body.

The draconic essence in Jared had even started to shine.

At the same time, waves and waves of the Power of Dragons were rushing into Jared’s elixir field.

Hence, Jared’s elixir field was changing continuously, and the spiritual energy in his body was soaring.

Also, golden scales were seen forming and deforming constantly on Jared’s body because he was activating Golem Body repetitively.

At that moment, it was as if Jared was in a fantasy world.

While his body was constantly disappearing and reappearing, a golden light shone on Jared’s forehead.

Suddenly, Jared opened his eyes.

Gradually, he got up, and he could feel the immense strength in his body. I feel I can move mountains and seas with this strength!

While feeling the spiritual energy in his body, Jared was elated.

When he used his spiritual sense to take a closer look, he saw that the golden elixir was shimmering and was floating above his elixir field.

“Still, I didn’t break through the golden elixir and achieve Nascent Soul. It seems that cultivation is going to be tough going forward…” Jared murmured to himself.

Although his strength had increased more than a dozen times, he still couldn’t get a breakthrough. I’m only a Semi Martial Arts Marquis, but I’m so close to being a Martial Arts Marquis. It’s something others have failed to achieve after spending decades cultivating.

Jared scanned his surroundings and wondered how long he had kept himself in there.

When he exited the Village of Villains, he was welcomed by a gruesome scene.

Even though it had been more than ten days, there was still a pungent scent of blood wafting in the air.

Vultures were circling in the sky, and they were feasting on the corpses on the ground.

Fortunately, the weather was cold, so the bodies hadn’t decomposed yet. However, the smell was horrendous.

Jared frowned deeply when he saw that. What happened here? All the corpses here belong to the people of the Village of Villains. It’s obvious that a gruesome battle had taken place! Judging by the state of the corpses, it seems that the battle happened a while ago.

Jared kept Pentacarna Tower and went to search the Village of Villains.

He wanted to see if there were any survivors.

Suddenly, he saw rays of light coming out of a cave in the Village of Villains. There’s someone in there!

When Jared arrived at the cave entrance, he saw two people sitting at a table full of delicacies and two bottles of wine.

One of them took a big gulp of wine and grumbled, “F*ck! When is Jared coming out? It has been two weeks already. If he’s going to stay in there forever, we’re both going to stay here for the rest of our lives! I heard that the members of the Norton family are living the time of their lives! They’re all enjoying good wine and good food, and they even have servers now! We’re both rather unlucky, aren’t we? We’ve followed the Norton family for so many years, and when we’ve finally made something of ourselves, we’re stuck doing a shitty job like this!”

“That’s enough. Calm down, okay? Don’t you know Mr. Norton’s temper? If he hears this, he’s going to chop your head off!” the other man warned.

Upon hearing that, the other guy didn’t dare to utter another word. Instead, he just continued drinking.

At the cave entrance, Jared fell into deep thought when he heard the conversation. The Norton family? Did the Norton family do this? Is Skylar that capable? How did he manage to destroy the Village of Villains? How could this happen? How did the Norton family destroy the Village of Villains so easily?

After taking a deep breath, Jared slowly walked in.

He decided to find out what had happened.

When those two men saw Jared, they were stunned, and they instantly dropped their wine glasses to the ground.

“Y-You…” The two of them stared at Jared in disbelief.

Jared reached out, grabbed one of them, and crushed his head with a single slap.

Chapter 1216 Submission

Maddox got out of the car under Lachlan’s confused gaze.

“What’s going on? Didn’t I ask you to leave?” Lachlan roared.

Maddox ignored Lachlan and went up to Skylar. In a respectful tone, he said, “Mr. Norton, Mrs. Dunn and her son are in the car.”

Lachlan figured out what was going on when he saw how respectful Maddox was toward Skylar. “How dare you betray me?”

Lachlan was infuriated, and he wanted to slap Maddox across the face.

Skylar smiled and threatened, “Mr. Dunn, calm down. Your wife and your son are in the car. If you fight back, I can’t guarantee their safety.”

Lachlan immediately retracted his hand and stared at Maddox furiously. “Why? Why did you betray me?”

Lachlan didn’t know why Maddox would betray him because Maddox had been serving him for more than a decade.

“Old Mr. Dunn, the Dunn family is no match for the Norton family. If you continue to fight, you’ll die. Why don’t you just bow down to the Norton family? It’s better to serve them than to die, no?” Maddox uttered shamelessly.

Lachlan was utterly infuriated, but he kept silent.

With his wife and his son in Skylar’s hands, he dared not act rashly.

“Mr. Dunn, all you need to do now is nod. As soon as you promise to submit yourselves to the Norton family, I can guarantee your wife and your son’s safety.” Skylar looked at Lachlan smugly because he knew Lachlan would definitely do as he was told. He’s surely going to give up everything to me.

Lachlan glanced at his wife and his son in the car before sighing and nodding helplessly. “You’re indeed stronger than your dad. I’ll listen to the Norton family’s orders. But you have to promise me you’ll keep my family safe.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Dunn. I’ll promise you just that. From now on, we’re a family. Why would I hurt them? But you’re well aware of Howard’s temper. In order to prevent him from causing trouble when he wakes up, I’ll keep him locked up for a while! To show my sincerity, I’ll leave your wife with you!” Skylar waved, and his men immediately went to drag Lachlan’s wife out of the car.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Lachlan’s wife yelled.

“Let her go!” Skylar ordered.

Lachlan’s wife ran toward Lachlan and hid behind him.

“Mr. Dunn, I hope to see your announcement of submission on the martial arts forum tomorrow!” With that, Skylar left the scene gleefully.

“My son! Give me back my son!” When she saw Howard being brought away, Lachlan’s wife wanted to chase after the car.

However, Lachlan stopped her.

At that moment, Lachlan felt utterly helpless.

Early the next morning, Lachlan made an announcement on the martial arts forum.

In summary, he said the Dunn family had submitted to the Norton family, and they were willing to do as the Norton family told them.

After he made that announcement, the forum was bursting with comments.

The Norton family again? The Norton family has been getting a lot of attention these days!

What’s going on? The Dunn family and the Norton family haven’t been seeing eye to eye, right?

In just one night, everything is going to change in Jadeborough’s martial arts world.

I bet there’s more to come! I guess the Warriors Alliance is going to panic soon.

Everyone voiced their opinions on the forum.

Surprisingly, nothing was heard from the Warriors Alliance. No one made a statement, and none of them went to look for the Norton family.

Just like that, the Norton family was allowed to keep growing in strength.

Time ticked by, and half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 1215 Bow

“What is it? What’s wrong? Why are you chasing us out in the middle of the night?” Lachlan’s wife looked at Lachlan in puzzlement.

“Stop asking me questions. I’ve already arranged everything for you. Also, keep my seal safely with you guys. No matter what, don’t let anyone else get their hands on it. As long as we have the seal, the Dunn family will live on!” Lachlan whipped out an exquisite-looking seal and gave it to his wife.

Seeing that, Lachlan’s wife was utterly bewildered. What on earth is going on here?

Right then, Howard opened the door and walked in. “Dad, did something happen?”

Howard had heard what Lachlan had said, and he knew his father wasn’t joking.

“Nothing happened! Just listen to me, okay?” Lachlan yelled. “Maddox, send Mr. Howard and Mrs. Dunn away!”

Maddox quickly rushed over and said to Howard and his mother, “Mr. Howard, Mrs. Dunn, the car is ready.”

“I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving! What’s happening?” Howard refused to leave.

To everyone’s surprise, Lachlan knocked Howard out with a slap and told Maddox to bring him away.

After watching his son and his wife leave, Lachlan stood at the highest point of the mansion.

From there, he could see the view of the entire Dunn residence.

He could even see the broken walls that had been destroyed when he fought against Jared. Why is the pile of rubble not taken care of yet?

Lachlan lighted a cigarette and waited in silence. There’s no escaping the inevitable.

As expected, before he could even finish his cigarette, he felt waves and waves of auras approaching him.

There were more than a dozen Semi Martial Arts Marquises coming his way.

However, Lachlan remained unfazed.

Soon, the incomers, led by Skylar of the Norton family, arrived in front of Lachlan.

Skylar raised his head to look at Lachlan and asked sarcastically, “Mr. Dunn, how are you? Why are you standing on such a high platform? Aren’t you worried that you might catch a cold?”

“Although I’m old, I’m not as weak as you think I am! Do you think a gust of wind can get me sick? I’m a Martial Arts Marquis!” Lachlan took a leap and landed steadily in front of Skylar.

“You’re indeed very capable, Mr. Dunn! I’m impressed!” praised Skylar.

“Cut the crap. I know why you’re here. Bring it on!” With that, Lachlan exuded a wave of powerful Martial Arts Marquis aura.

The wave of frightening aura loomed over the entire Dunn residence.

Those Semi Martial Arts Marquis were slightly startled to feel that.

Skylar flashed a faint smile and asked, “Mr. Dunn, there seems to be a misunderstanding! As a member of the younger generation, why would I fight you? I’m here to discuss something with you, Mr. Dunn! You see, a lot of the martial arts families have already joined the Norton family. I think it’s about time the Dunn family submits to us too.”

“Submit to you guys?” Lachlan narrowed his eyes. “Who do you think you are? If David were here, do you think he would dare to speak to me this way? Do you think you’re all that just because you’ve destroyed the Village of Villains? Even if all the martial arts families have submitted to the Norton family, I’ll never do the same!”

Lachlan exuded murderous intent, and he had a stern look on his face. I would rather die than submit to the Norton family!

“Calm down, Mr. Dunn. Let me show you something first, and you can make your decision afterward.” Skylar flashed a confident smile.

Lachlan was confused.

Right then, a black car arrived at the scene, and the driver was the butler of the Dunn family, Maddox.

Chapter 1214 A Ruthless World

“Ha! The Norton family wants to cause a commotion in Jadeborough?” Zion snorted. “The head of the Norton family is in seclusion, so it must be his son’s doing.”

One elder asked, “President Zeigler, what should we do next? Aren’t we going to do anything to stop these families from taking the Norton family’s side?”

“Since Skylar is ambitious, we shall let him be. Let’s see how he’ll teach Jared a lesson. It’s a ruthless world, and we can enjoy the show from aside.” Zion smirked.

Meanwhile, Skylar was sitting in the patriarch’s seat in the Norton residence.

His father, David Norton, was in seclusion, so he was in charge of all affairs related to the Norton family.

Skylar had always been in charge of the Norton family’s affairs, but he had never sat in the patriarch’s seat.

However, things were different today.

The Norton family had destroyed the Village of Villains and captured The Villainous Four alive.

They knew the Norton family had taken advantage of the situation, but Skylar’s courage and the Norton family’s capability were known to all.

Thus, many martial arts families started forming alliances with the Norton family.

“The head of the Lionhead family from the south of the city, Mr. Peter Lionhead, requests a formal audience!”

“The leader of Dark Sun Sect, Mr. Terry Sheepler, requests a formal audience!”

“The head of Stabilis, Mr. Manuel Hirsh, requests a formal audience!”

That very day, many martial arts families had requested a formal audience with Skylar, and he had welcomed them all with a pleasant smile.

Skylar was inwardly pleased.

He was young, but many prestigious martial arts families had come to ally with his family.

Skylar knew that even his father couldn’t achieve this feat.

A total of thirty martial arts families ended up joining the Norton family that day.

Skylar was tired, but it was a fruitful day.

“I’ll figure out a way to subdue the martial arts world in Marsingfill, too. By then, no one in Jadeborough can defeat me!”

Standing at the highest point of the mansion, he lifted his head to stare at the sky. Obviously, he was too full of himself.

Everyone knew what Skylar had done, but no one stopped him.

They seemed to be waiting for something.

Back in the Dunn residence, Lachlan was wearing an ugly scowl.

The Dunn family was at odds with the Norton family, and they used to be of similar strength.

Now that many families had chosen to seek refuge with the Norton family, the Dunn family was no match for them.

“Why are you still up this late?” Lachlan’s wife asked.

“I can’t sleep!” Lachlan lit a cigarette and took a long puff. “Where is Howard?”

“Howard is in his room. He never came out or spoke a word ever since you took action against Jared,” his wife grumbled and glared at him.

“Well…” Lachlan exhaled sharply. “I did that for his sake. Why doesn’t he understand?”

“You took someone else’s thing for his sake? Howard told me Jared is his friend, but you ended up asking him to trick Jared into coming here. You’re nothing but a thief!”

“Women like you know nothing!” Lachlan snapped.

He tossed his cigarette away and went to Howard’s room.

Knock, knock!

Lachlan knocked on the door and said, “Howard, come out. I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you! Just leave me alone!” Howard’s furious voice rang out inside his room.

It had been days, but he still couldn’t get over it.

It was all my fault! I never knew my father was someone that despicable.

“I know you’re still upset, but I did that for your sake. Get up and put on some clothes. Bring your mother to your grandfather’s house. No matter what happens here, don’t come back!” Lachlan ordered in a stern voice.

Chapter 1213 A Meeting

“That young man from the Norton family was brave enough to destroy the Village of Villains and take The Villainous Four as his hostages.”

“He has always been full of tricks. This time, he managed to reap the benefits of the battle between the Village of Villains and the Marsingfill martial arts world.”

“Is the Norton family at odds with the Village of Villains? Why did Skylar act so ruthlessly?”

“It was all because of Jared. I heard Skylar holds a grudge against Jared.”

“Oh? I didn’t know that. Still water runs deep, huh?”

Everyone in the martial arts world was talking about the matter.

However, only a few of them knew the truth. Most were making guesses.

It was all part of Skylar’s plan.

Those who knew the truth were already dead.

However, Skylar’s name managed to gain recognition in the martial arts world after this incident.

He was soon ranked on the Sage Leaderboard.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sanders was reading the posts on the forum in his office. He muttered, “The Norton family, Skylar Norton…”

“Mr. Sanders, the Village of Villains has been destroyed by the Norton family, and The Villainous Four have been taken as hostages. They may not have a good reputation, but they have never done anything wrong. Should we give the Norton family a warning about taking advantage of the Village of Villains’ weakened state?” Theodore asked.

He was on Jared’s side. The Norton family had successfully taken advantage of the Village of Villains’ weakened state and attacked them as they protected Jared. Thus, he wanted to help them out.

However, the Norton family would most probably ignore him, as he was just the General of the Department of Justice. The influential families would only listen to Mr. Sanders.

Ignoring him, Mr. Sanders continued reading the posts on the forum and mumbled, “The Norton family, Skylar Norton… I’ve never paid attention to this young man. This is just the beginning. Slowly, people will grow restless and take action. Skylar is the first one.”

As Mr. Sanders mumbled to himself, Theodore had no idea what he was talking about.

“Mr. Sanders, should we—”

Before Theodore could finish, Mr. Sanders gave a dismissive wave. “We do nothing. You can leave now!”

Theodore had no choice but to turn and leave.

He wanted to help the Village of Villains, but there was nothing he could do.

Back at the Jadeborough Warriors Alliance, Zion was seated on the main seat with Ryker beside him.

There were also some heads of martial arts families around.

Zion glanced at the crowd. “Everyone, we’re going to welcome a new year soon. This will be the last meeting for the Jadeborough Warriors Alliance! It will also be the last time we accept members.”

Turning to an elder beside him, he asked, “Did any families hand in their applications?”

“President Zeigler, we didn’t receive any applications until now,” the elder responded awkwardly in a small voice.

An ugly expression crept up Zion’s face when he heard that.

There were many martial arts families in the martial arts world in Jadeborough. However, the Jadeborough Warriors Alliance didn’t manage to get any new members.

The influential families didn’t even want to join them.

Besides, these families were busy expanding their influence as though they wanted to become their rivals.

As the president, Zion couldn’t let that happen.

“President Zeigler, after Jared killed Mr. Gordon, our reputation has been affected. Many martial arts families refused to join us. In fact, some families want to back out of the alliance! Now that the Norton family managed to destroy the Village of Villains and took The Villainous Four as hostages, many families are trying to get into their good books,” one family head said.